How to Fix a Push Golf Swing

Seeing your golf ball start right of the target and stay there is one of the most frustrating feelings in golf. That’s a push, and it often feels like you made a good swing, only to get a bad result. This article breaks down exactly why you hit the push and provides clear, actionable drills to get your ball flying back at the pin.

What Actually is a Push? (And Why It’s Not a Slice)

First, let's get our terms right, because you can't fix a problem you haven’t properly diagnosed. A push is a golf shot that begins to the right of your target line and continues flying straight on that path, never curving back. For left-handed golfers, it's the exact opposite - a ball that starts and flies straight left.

This is different from a slice. A slice is a shot that might start on target (or even left of it) but then curves sharply to the right in the air. While both miss the target right, they have different causes rooted in the holy grail of ball flight: the relationship between club path and clubface angle.

Here’s the simple physics:

• A push happens when your clubface is square to your swing path, but your swing path itself is traveling excessively from "inside-to-out" (or to the right of the target).
• A slice happens when your club swing path is traveling "out-to-in," cutting across the ball with an open clubface.

Understanding this distinction is the first step. You're hitting a push because your swing's direction is pointed right of your target, and your clubface is following that lead. Now, let’s figure out why your path is going that way and how to straighten it out.

Common Causes of a Push and How to Fix Them

A push rarely stems from a single, isolated fault. It's usually a chain reaction of small issues, starting before you even begin your swing. We'll walk through the most common culprits, from your setup to your downswing.

Problem #1: Flawed Alignment & Ball Position

Your body is the ultimate navigation system for your swing, and if it's aimed incorrectly, your arms and club will most likely follow. This is the simple most common reason golfers hit a push. They are simply not aimed at the target.

The Faults:

• Parallel Left Alignment: Many golfers aim their feet directly at the target. This is wrong. Your feet should be aimed parallel to your target line, creating what looks like a set of railroad tracks. If your feet aim at the flag, your swing path is predisposed to come from the inside.
• Closed Shoulders: Even with good feet alignment, it's easy to set up with your shoulders aimed to the right of the target. This "closes" your upper body and essentially pre-sets an inside-out path, as your arms have nowhere to go but behind you and then out to the right.
• Ball Too Far Back: Playing the ball too far back in your stance (especially common with longer irons and woods) can force the club to make contact with the ball too early in the swing arc, when the path is still traveling out to the right.

The Fix: The Railroad Tracks Drill

This simple visual exercise is used by pros for a reason - it works. It completely removes the guesswork from alignment.

1. Go to the driving range and pick a clear target.
2. Place an alignment stick (or a golf club) on the ground, pointing directly at your target. This is your "ball-to-target-line." Step back and check it's aimed where you want to go.
3. Place a second alignment stick on the ground parallel to the first one, but where your feet will go. This is your "body line." This line should be pointed left of the target.
4. Set up in your stance, with the leading edge of your clubface square to the target line stick, and your feet, hips, and shoulders all parallel to the body line stick.

This setup will feel incredibly "open" or aimed left at first, especially if you had a push-inducing alignment. Trust the sticks. Hit some half-shots focusing on swinging the club down the target line, not your body line. This will immediately help you feel the difference between proper alignment and your old alignment.

Problem #2: Getting Your Arms "Stuck" Behind You

The "stuck" feeling is classic push territory. It happens on the downswing when your lower body outraces your upper body. Your hips spin open quickly, but your arms and the club get left behind, trapped deep behind your trail hip. From this position, your only option is to throw the club out to the right of the target, resulting in a push or a hook (a-hem, a "push-draw").

The fault usually starts with a takeaway that is too flat or is pulled too far to the inside. When the club gets that deep, it has a long, difficult journey to get back in front of your body at impact.

The Fix: Swing With a Headcover

This drill provides immediate feedback, forcing you to keep the club more "in front" of your body and preventing that deep, stuck position.

1. Take your normal address position with a mid-iron.
2. Place a headcover on the ground about 12-18 inches behind and just outside your golf ball.
3. The goal is to complete a full swing without your club hitting the headcover on the backswing or the downswing.
4. If you pull the club too much to the inside on the takeaway, you'll hit the headcover immediately.
5. If you are coming down too much from the inside (the stuck position), your club will strike the headcover before it reaches the ball.

To successfully miss the headcover, you have to keep your arms and club more in front of your chest as you rotate your torso. This promotes a feeling of the arms and body working together, not as two separate entities, which is the key to an on-plane swing - and to eliminating the push.

Problem #3: Early Extension (The Hip Thrust)

Early extension is maybe the most common swing fault among amateur golfers and it's a huge cause of the push. It describes the tendency for a golfer's hips and pelvis to move towards the golf ball during the downswing. As your lower body thrusts forward, your spine angle changes, and your arms have nowhere to go but to get stuck behind you and fire out to the right.

If you constantly feel like you run out of room at impact, or like your arms are jammed against your body, you're probably extending early. This move doesn’t just cause a push, it’s a big-time power killer, too.

The Fix: Backside Against the Bag Drill

Maintaining your posture from setup through impact is the antidote to early extension.

1. Set up without a ball, placing your golf bag (or a chair) directly behind you so your backside is gently touching it.
2. Make some slow, smooth practice swings. Your entire focus should be on keeping your backside in contact with the bag throughout the backswing and, most importantly, all the way through the downswing until your arms are past your body.
3. If you early extend, you will immediately feel your hips leave the bag as they thrust towards where the ball would be.
4. The goal is to feel your left glute (for righties) rotate back and along the bag as you swing down. This motion creates space for your arms to swing down freely on the correct path, instead of being jammed and forced out to the right.

Start with slow swings and gradually build speed. This drill trains your body to rotate correctly rather than lunge forward.

Problem #4: Failing to Release the Clubhead

Let's say your alignment is perfect and your swing path is great. You can still push the ball if you don't allow the clubface to rotate closed through the impact zone. Many golfers who fight a hook get so paranoid about closing the clubface that they do the opposite: they "hold it off," preventing the natural rotation of the forearms.

In a good swing, as the clubhead approaches the ball, your trail hand and forearm should rotate over your lead hand. If this C doesn't happen, the face remains open to the target line and your ball will start and stay right.

The Fix: The Split-Handed Swing Drill

This drill exaggerates the feeling of a proper release, making it easier to replicate in your full swing.

1. Take your normal grip with a 7 or 8-iron. Then, slide your bottom hand (trail hand) down the shaft so there's a 3-4 inch gap between your hands.
2. Now take some slow, waist-high-to-waist-high swings.
3. You will find it is almost impossible to swing through without feeling the clubhead want to `release.` You will feel your trail arm powerfully rotating over your lead arm through the impact zone.` This is the release.
4. This exaggerated feel teaches your hands and arms what they are supposed todo. It's not a violent, forced flip, but a soft, accelerating rotation of the clubface through impact.

After a few split-handed swings, put your hands back together and try to replicate that same feeling of rotation on a few easy shots. The fear of closing the face will be replaced by the confident feeling of knowing how to square it up.

Final Thoughts

Fixing a pushed golf shot comes down to checking your chain of command: start with your alignment, check your swing path mechanics, ensure your body is rotating and not lunging, and finally, let the club release. By filming your swing or using alignment aids, you can diagnose which of these areas is the primary culprit and use these specific drills to correct the cause instead of just wrestling the symptom on the cours.

Understanding what your swing is *actually* doing versus what you *feel* it's doing is the biggest step towards real improvement. That’s a large part of why we created Caddie AI, it acts as your personal golf coach right in your pocket. You can ask for drills to work on a specific miss like the push, or even take a photo of a difficult lie on the course that might be encouraging bad habits, and get instant, tailored advice on the spot. It's about removing the guesswork so you can practice smarter and play with more confidence.